Sharon Stone has come under fire from Italian director Pupi Avati and his producer brother Antonio for reportedly making "absurd" demands on the set of their new movie The Golden Boy. The Avatis were stunned when the Hollywood beauty agreed to star as a sexy actress-turned-publisher in the new, low-budget drama, but their excitement quickly turned to concern about some of the comments and requests that were made in a series of exchanges between their representatives.
Speaking at a press conference for the film in Rome, Italy, Avati explained, "My brother asked me if I was crazy (to cast Stone)...
"Then a correspondence started, enough to write a book, between her agents and our lawyers. It was a negotiation that bordered on ridiculousness, concerning embarrassing details, as if Italy was a third world country."
Antonio Avati went on to recall how Stone lapped up the paparazzi attention paid to her as she arrived in Rome for the shoot, where more than 200 snappers had gathered, noting, "There her ego definitely inflated. It is the classic pattern with these American actresses who are slightly declining (in fame)."
Pupi claims Stone's diva-like behaviour only worsened as the media attention increased and he was forced to halt the shoot one day after his leading lady disappeared before a kissing scene.
He said, "It was the last scene in the day and we had to do the last shot where Sharon kisses (onscreen love interest Riccardo) Scamarcio. Suddenly, she realised that together with all the photographers, there was also a TV cameraman who was filming.
"She immediately disappeared. We looked for her everywhere, but nothing! Then my brother received a phone call from Los Angeles from her manager: she wouldn't come back on the set until the photographers and especially that damned TV cameraman had gone away.
"Obviously we did so and she, like nothing happened, shot the scene. The thing that I found most absurd is that she had to call to the States and to close herself in a car (to hide), instead of coming to ask us directly."
Despite the alleged difficulties onset, Pupi claims he wouldn't rule out working with Stone again - although the actress is unlikely to take the Avatis' comments lightly.
Responding to the remarks, Stone's representative, Cindi Berger, tells The Hollywood Reporter, "None of this is true. Ms. Stone is the consummate professional."

Well this is good news. Hidden amongst the full cast list for Woody Allen’s next installment in his A City A Year: How To See All Major European Cities As An Oscar Winning Writer is the title of his Roman escape: The Bop Decameron. It was originally called The Wrong Picture but now that has been corrected. What does that even mean? Who the hell knows. It’s Woody Allen to boot so that doesn’t really offer any help either. The Decameron is a collection of short medieval Italian novellas and it looks like that class in medieval Italian literature finally paid off (full disclosure: Wikipedia). And since the film is comprised of a collection of different vignettes, perhaps it’s a shout out.
Anyway, the full cast includes Allen himself, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Penélope Cruz, Judy Davis, Jesse Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig and Ellen Page with Antonio Albanese, Fabio Armiliata, Alessandra Mastronardi, Ornella Muti, Flavio Parenti, Alison Pill, Riccardo Scamarcio and Alessandro Tiberi in supporting turns. I really, really liked Midnight in Paris and hopefully 'ole Woody can do it again next year.
Source: ComingSoon